Page 39 of The Temporary Roomie: Extended Edition

“Not a fan of black coffee, I take it?” I already know she won’t drink it without cream, but I ask anyway so she won’t know I’ve been tracking her every movement since she moved in.

“Drew”—I’m still not totally used to hearing my name fall so casually from her lips—“creamer is one of the few magnificent little wonders in this world. I refuse to go without it, and no, I’m not being dramatic.” When she smiles like that, I don’t stand a chance. I will bend to her every desire every time.

“All right then.” I scoop up my keys.

She sets down her mug and hurries after me. “Wait, where are you going?”

“To the store to get you creamer.”

She’s bobbing behind me, trying to grab the keys. “No! I didn’t mean you had to go. I’ll go. It’s for me anyway.”

I hold the keys up high so she can’t take them. They jingle playfully. “I need a few other things too.”

“Then make a list, and I’ll get them while I’m there. I better go ahead and buy Grandaddy more Oreos anyway.”

I grin down at her attempts to hop in the air for the keys and her inability to do so because of how uncomfortable it is with her swollen belly. I’m so mean, hanging them like a bone on a string over her head. “Nope, I’m going.”

Determination settles in her stubborn green eyes. “Fine. Then we’re both going.”

“Great.”

“Wonderful.” Her chin angles up. “I’ll drive separate.”

“You’ll ride with me.”

Her eyes narrow and she waits three beats before responding. “Only to help preserve the planet.”

“Such a hero.”

CHAPTER 18

Jessie

MONDAY

There’s a knock on my bedroom door, and because it’s only us here, I know who it is. My stomach flips as I turn the handle and find Drew standing there with a hesitant smile. He leans his shoulder against the frame, does a slow perusal of me in my shorts and tank top, and then meets my eyes.

“I accidentally made too much dinner. Come eat with me.”

“Is it poisoned?”

“No, my vial was empty.”

I twist my lips to the side, trying to look like I’m contemplating it and didn’t make up my mind the second he asked. Because truth is, I’m spending all my free time with Drew these days. He knows it. I know it. But neither of us will admit it out loud, because it’s too scary.

CHAPTER 19

Jessie

TUESDAY

Everything took too long today. So many highlights, so many women wanting to reinvent their look. At five o’clock, I wanted to throw my bowl of lightening cream against the wall and yell, “Yeah, yeah, you look fine! Go home and love yourself as you are!” But I stood there like a good little hairstylist and finished taking a woman’s hair from a level four brunette to an ambitious level seven warm blond until eight o’clock. Because in the hair world, you don’t get to clock out at five. You stay until the job is done.

I floor it all the way home.Home.Drew’s home, I mean. His Jeep is in the driveway, and I feel an eagerness to get inside.

I open the door too exuberantly, and it slams back against the wall. He’s sitting on the couch with a bowl of ice cream and nearly throws it over his head. He’s wearing his trademark at-home look: Hoodie. Sweatpants. Bare feet.

Except, thanks to me, he also has a swollen black eye.

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